1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus for writing/reading an image to and from a memory.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Hitherto, an image processing apparatus has been arranged in such a manner that it reads the R, G and B components of an image in the form of elongated regions by serial scanning operation by using a CCD or the like to binarize them by an error diffusion method or similar method so as to reproduce the image by printing in accordance with binary data thus-obtained. However, there arises a problem in that the quality of the reproduced image deteriorates because the binarization cannot be normally performed at the junction between the elongated regions and thereby undesirable lines or the like are formed. Accordingly, a conventional image reader is arranged to be capable of preventing the generation of the line or the like in such a manner that the above-described junction is read in an overlap manner and and data about the junction is binarized while making a reference to image data about the front portion and the rear portion of the junction.
However, there has been developed an image processing apparatus having a multiplicity of functions such as a function of modifying the original image and a function of synthesizing a plurality of original images as well as the ordinary function of simply copying the original image. In order to realize an image processing apparatus having the above-described multiple functions, the apparatus must comprise an image memory which is capable of temporarily storing the image. However, the image processing apparatus of the above-described type has suffered from a problem taken place in that the quality of the image overlap portion deteriorates when the image is obtained in the form of a print because the overlap image regions are necessarily stored if all of the images read in the overlap manner are written to the image memory. Another problem takes place in that the quality of image deteriorates by the undesirable line or the like because the process of image data read from the image memory prevents the normal completion of the binary operation or the spatial filter operation which is required to process the data about the above-described junction.